A Real-Time Look at What's Happening in Patients' CellsMetabolite Profiling

The need for improved cancer diagnostics is compelling. Yet molecular diagnostics employing DNA, RNA, and proteins have not delivered with actionable clinical tests.

The answer may lie with metabolomics, which is the study of the unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes—processes like cancer—leave behind. While mRNA, gene expression data, and proteomic analyses do not tell the whole story of what might be happening in a cell, metabolite profiling can give an instantaneous snapshot of the physiology of a cell.

Metabolite profiling is part of an emerging field of chemical and clinical analysis that identifies and measures changes in important small molecule metabolites—also known as biomarkers—found in blood, urine, saliva, tears, and spinal fluid. Matrix-Bio is working to turn patented metabolite profiling methods into specific diagnostic tests so that through a simple blood test it will be possible to detect cancer in its very early stages with a high degree of accuracy. It also can be used to monitor the recurrence of disease or how a patient is responding to treatment. Metabolite profiling offers great promise to physicians and patients.